Aftermath
by MissyWoodhouse
Summary: "I thought I lost one of my friends, one of the few you have with my job." "But you didn't." "But I could have. All these hours till we found you. The long hours waiting for you to wake up." Set after CA:TWS / AU
1. Chapter 1

_So here my very first try to write a ff with the Cap…. Hope you like it ;)_

_Oh and the rating is just because I am not quite sure…_

Disclaimer: Not owning anything

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><p>He tried to quite his thoughts but they kept him busy like bees.<p>

Seeing her again after this long time brought memories back.

From their time after New York.

x

The long nights they had sat together, talking or just quietly enjoying each other's company.

She helped him to get back into life.

To get used to it.

To start again after 70 years with no one left.

She told him where he would find Peggy, although Fury didn't approve it.

x

He remembered how the others but basically Tony would tease him about their undefined relationship.

That they behaved more like an old married couple than Clint and Natasha did.

The kisses, their nights together, everything.

x

And how she disappeared.

Of course it had been Fury who sent her back on the Helicarrier.

And ever since their paths hadn't crossed.

x

But then she was in the hospital right next to him.

But all they were able to share were some looks trying to find out if the other one was okay.

Nothing more said than necessary.

Not even a small touch which would have been unnoticed by the rest.

x

It wasn't until she rescued them that they actually talked with each other.

That she allowed more than just professional.

x

He remembered her voice after he ordered her to destroy the three Helicarriers.

The pain.

The fear to lose him.

The hurt.

The will to disobey.

The hint of love.

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><p>He heard her coming closer but didn't move until he felt her presences next to him.<p>

"Steve." Her voice was quiet and weak.

x

She wasn't the deputy director of SHIELD anymore with it gone.

She wasn't an agent anymore.

This was one of those few moments when she allowed herself to be Maria.

Because now she couldn't hide anymore.

x

He turned around and after a quick look he knew that she needed a friend.

That she needed him.

"Hey. Up for a coffee? " He offered her and a small smile appeared on her lips.

"Sure."

x

He paid her coffee and she didn't argue because she knew he would insist on it.

They sat down on a bench and watched the people passing by.

x

"Planning a holiday sometime soon?" Maria finally asked after a long time of silence.

"I was thinking of Sydney during Christmas. Enjoying the sun while New York is white and cold."

It was an unspoken rule between them not to talk about business during a coffee break.

x

"Sounds like a good plan. I like the idea of going to South Africa." She paused for a moment.

"I thought I wouldn't see you again." He nearly missed the sentence.

"I thought I lost one of my friends, one of the few you have with my job."

"But you didn't."

"But I could have. All these hours till we found you. The long hours waiting for you to wake up."

x

Her face was an open book.

All the emotions she had hidden.

x

He was taken by surprise.

"You have been there?" A smile formed on his lips.

"Sam didn't tell me."

"Because I told him not to."

"But why?"


	2. Chapter 2

so dear readers here the next bit

disclaimer: still not owning anything but the idea

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><p>Some days earlier.<p>

"Maria do you have a moment?"

"Sure." She watched Pepper expectantly as she sat down in the chair across her.

"Talk to me." Maria looked confused at the woman in front of her.

"About what exactly?" But she eventually knew what Pepper wanted. That she talked to her about this Helicarrier thing. About the fact that she had sat days beside Steve's bed at the hospital and waited for him to wake up. About the fact that she accused herself for doing what she was ordered to.

"You know what I mean. But okay, let's play answer the question game." Annoyed Maria rolled her eyes but eventually gave in.

"Shoot."

"So how many overtime hours since he left the hospital?" Pepper knew exactly what she needed to ask her to find out what she wanted.

"37" She replied silently and endured the harsh gaze of her friend.

"He is out for four days now and you have 37 overtime hours? Why don't you visit him, get yourself a hobby or a dog?" Maria sighed and decided to give in. Her friend was right she needed to talk to someone about it. And she didn't have to hide anymore.

"I can't do it. I was there yesterday in my car. But somehow I couldn't get myself to leave it. I don't know if I can look into his eyes. I know that he said that I should do it but still. And he wasn't alone."

"Clint, Tony and Bruce were over at his place."

"A good reason not to go upstairs then."

"You should have."

"Just to hear one of Starks annoying pattern?"

"He needs your help. He just got to know that the person who wanted to kill him is his best friend he thought died was a tool of Hydra. Now he disappeared and he wants to find him. He needs you!" Pepper made a pause.

"I know that there has been more between the two of you. And that you still have feelings for him." Maria tried to argue but Pepper continued.

"Otherwise you wouldn't have been there. Go and talk to him."

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><p>And now she was sitting with him in a small café and talked about holiday and this Helicarrier thing<p>

"I don't know. I just wanted to see that I didn't kill you. That you'll make it. That I'm not losing another person I care for." He took her hand and squeezed it lightly.

"Hey, I ordered you to do it. It wouldn't have been your fault." Maria didn't reply and took another sip from her coffee.

Steve watched her.

He knew that she had hid behind the mask of a serious and distant Agent Hill but now she couldn't do it anymore.

It wasn't Agent Hill he had fallen in love with back then but the woman who had hid behind the mask.

This woman knew what she wanted but had her weak moments which make her even more human.

She herself had told him that there were not many people whom she allowed to look behind her mask which made him happy that she was doing it again.

That she was talking to him although he had the feeling that there was still something unsaid.

Something she didn't want to talk about or couldn't talk about.

"Don't worry. Come with me." He took her hand and made her follow him.

"Where are we going?" He didn't replied as they reached his motorbike and he offered her the place behind him.

She smiled drunk the rest of her coffee and joined him.

"Well then, surprise me." She whispered into his ear and wrapped her arms tightly round his waist.


	3. Chapter 3

They drove for a quite a while.

Leaving the narrow streets of New York behind than the suburbs.

It wasn't noon yet and Maria enjoyed the warming air blowing at her face.

She trusted the man sitting in front of her.

There weren't many people she trusted as much as she did him.

Especially after learning that SHIELD, which had defined her for so long wasn't what it was meant to be.

That the brotherhood they thought to be destroyed had infiltrated it.

x

"We're here." She heard him saying and she felt the motorbike slowing down.

Steve stopped and parked his bike.

"Where are we?" Maria asked as she handed him her helmet.

"I drive often here when all those things just get too much. Fury, Stark, those modern things I still need to get used to. It's so quiet and calm here. It remains me off the time back then." Steve took her hand and walked down the main street.

He was right.

It was calmer.

x

Steve stopped at the entrance of a small park.

"I know this park since my childhood. My parents took me here whenever we visited my grandparents who lived close to here. It had always been one of my favourite places especially after seeing my grandparents. You're the first one I'm bringing here."

Maria didn't exactly know how to react.

There hadn't been many people in her life who had shared those special things and places with her.

And she was the first one Steve brought here made her realise that she wasn't just someone for him.

"Thank you." She said quietly and both went in the park.

x

The park was small but tidy.

Someone seemed to take regularly care of it.

Steve headed straight for a certain part of it and Maria followed him on a slower pace trying to remember everything she saw still holding his hand.

x

"That is my favourite spot because you can see the ocean."

Maria hadn't seen that Steve had stopped and bumped into his shoulder.

"Hey carefully." He smiled and stepped aside.

"It's beautiful." Fascinated she looked out on the calm ocean.

x

They sat there a while just starring out on the blue ocean.

Once in a while they would talk quietly but most of the time they remained silent.

At some point Maria laid her head against Steve's shoulder.

"So what happens next?" She whispered.

"I don't know. A lot of things are going to change. Some won't. Who knows what is coming."


End file.
